Georges Danton

Georges Danton (26 October 1759-5 April 1794) was the President of the Committee of Public Safety from 1792 to 1794 after having briefly served as Minister of Justice in 1792. Leading the opposition against dictator Maximilien Robespierre in the later parts of his reign, Danton was one of the victims of the "Great Terror" (Spring-Summer 1794), in which Robespierre started the last stage of the Reign of Terror: killing a list of political enemies.

Biography
Danton was born into a respected bourgeoisie family from Arcis-sur-Aube. He studied law and eventually joined the opposition against the French monarchy of King Louis XVI, and was one of the participants in the Storming of Tuileries Palace on 10 August 1792. Danton was made the Minister of Justice, and oversaw that Royalist supporters (journalists, priest, and ordinary men and women) were hoarded into prisons. Unlike Maximilien Robespierre, the dictator of the French Republic, Danton was a man full of life and bombast who was a hard drinker and debaucherer who could physically identify with the working class. As a key member of the National Convention (former National Assembly), Danton was influential in the fall of the pro-Louis XVI Girondist party in 1793.

However, Danton later became an outspoken opponent of Robespierre, who was his former friend. Danton was a key rival, as he was also popular among the people and Robespierre argued that Danton was an enemy of the revolution; Danton was believed to be corrupt and lenient to counter-revolutionaries. He had Danton and many others arrested, put on his list of victims of the era called the "Reign of Terror".

Death
Danton and many other opponents of Robespierre were rounded up and put in carts, and sent to the guillotine for execution. With his hair cut, his arms bound to a pad, and his head under the guillotine, Danton said that "My only regret is that I am going before that rat Robespierre" as his last words, and the iron plate was set loose. He was beheaded at the age of 34.